Does Butter Really Make Everything Better?

Overview

Ah, butter. Real butter makes ordinary toast a treat, lends an incomparable richness to baked goods and -- arguably -- isn’t even so bad for your cholesterol levels. Butter’s gluten-free, very low in sugar and available in many forms. Tangy cultured butters or whey butter are increasingly easy to find in supermarkets, and fresh, sweet unsalted butter is available just about anywhere. Raw butter, a trendy but hard-to-find ingredient, is controversial and potentially risky.

Can Butter Have Gluten in It?

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Butter is a gluten-free food, with a few exceptions. To be safe, check the ingredient list on the packaging label. If it lists only butter or only butter and salt, feel confident that the butter has no gluten. If the label lists “natural flavoring” or “natural flavors,” the butter may contain traces of gluten. Before buying butter-like products -- light butter spreads, margarines or butter-oil blends -- check labels carefully for gluten-containing ingredients.

How Much Salt Is in Butter?

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Different brands of salted butter vary in their salt content. Per stick, salted butter may have anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Unsalted butter, of course, is salt-free and often fresher and tastier than the salted variety. Chefs prefer unsalted butter, which allows them to fine-tune a dish’s seasoning.

How Much Salt Dissolves in Butter?

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Salt cannot dissolve in fats, so it must dissolve in the water component of butter. One stick of unsalted butter contains about 20 grams of water. Approximately 5 grams of salt, or 1 teaspoon, will dissolve in 20 grams of water. Therefore, a maximum of 1 teaspoon of salt will dissolve in a stick of unsalted butter.

Does Whey Butter Have Glucose?

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Whey butter, a tangy butter made from the whey produced during cheese making, contains no glucose or any other sugar. Like sweet cream butter, its calories come from fat. Milk by contrast is rich in lactose -- milk sugar -- which consists of galactose and glucose joined together in a chemical bond. The digestive system must break down the lactose into its components before gaining access to glucose molecules.

How Much Protein Is in Almond Butter?

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Almond butter has nearly 7 grams of protein in a 2-tablespoon serving. If you want a toast topping with more heartiness than dairy butter, almond butter is a great choice. It gives you some heart-healthy monounsaturated fats along with a filling dose of protein.

How Much Protein Is in 2 Toasts With Butter?

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Butter contains practically no protein, so the protein in buttered toast is entirely determined by your bread choice. Two slices of white bread have about 6 grams of protein, while whole-wheat bread has 7 grams. To boost your protein intake, look for sprouted-grain breads or high-protein breads, which often have slightly more protein than ordinary loaves.

Does Raw Butter Have More Vitamin D?

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Raw butter -- butter made from unpasteurized milk -- has no more vitamin D than regular butter. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, a raw-milk advocacy group, raw milk doesn’t have a different vitamin profile than pasteurized milk. The foundation's arguments in favor of raw milk don’t involve vitamin content but rather bioactive components in fresh milk that pasteurization destroys. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention warns against drinking raw milk, which can contain dangerous pathogens.

Can You Put Extra Salt in Cookies as a Substitute for Unsalted Butter?

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If your recipe calls for salted butter and you only have unsalted on hand, use 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt per 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. If you prefer cookies with a slightly salty edge -- which can be delicious -- use 3/4 teaspoon of salt or more. When possible, use recipes that call for unsalted butter. It contains less water, is fresher than salted butter and gives better results when baking.

Does Butter Raise Your Cholesterol Levels?

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The role of butter -- and other high-fat dairy products -- in raising cholesterol levels is debated among scientists. Many mainstream nutrition authorities, including the Harvard School of Public Health, cautiously conclude that butter is bad for cholesterol levels and that refined carbohydrates are just as bad as butter. However, a recent review in the journal “Advances in Nutrition” concluded that butter increases “bad” LDL cholesterol, but it also increases healthy HDL, so the net effect may be neutral.

Is Raw Butter Healthier than Regular Butter?

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Proponents of raw milk like the Weston A. Price Foundation claim that raw milk and raw butter are healthiest. They argue that raw milk teems with good bacteria, immune system stimulants and other beneficial substances. But the U.S. government strongly disagrees, warning that raw milk products can contain salmonella, listeria, E. coli and other potentially deadly microbes and advises against drinking raw milk.

Does Butter Contain Lactose?

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Butter contains 1 to 2 grams of lactose per teaspoon. This small amount doesn’t cause symptoms for many lactose-intolerant people, but if you’re very sensitive, you may need to avoid butter entirely. Ask your health care provider if you should avoid or limit butter to treat lactose intolerance.

About the Author

Cindy Pineo has been writing about diet, wellness and culture since 2002. She is coauthor of the book "The Atkins Diet and Philosophy." Pineo holds a Master of Arts in English literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts in humanities from the University of Chicago.